As if this confirmation weren't great enough news, the company's press release states that the game's optional Mega Black Label add-on (which was $15 DLC in Japan) comes standard right out of the box, giving you Sakura as a playable character, the Crystal Shrine stage, and the 999 difficulty level.

There's no word on a release date yet, but this project is already in the oven, and here's confirmation before Cave has even had time to reply to my request for comment. Hit the jump for the full press release with all the available details.

Torrance, CA (January 18, 2010) – Aksys Games, a publisher of interactive entertainment products, announces the gothic-lolita shmup hit that took Japan by storm, Deathsmiles, for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Enter the world of Gilverado, a kingdom plagued by hideous monsters and tortured souls. Choose from four angels with unique demonic familiars and battle against a storm of enemies pouring out of Hell’s gates! Fight your way out of tight spots as you are surrounded by enemy units and bullets from both sides of the screen. The unique left/right shooting mechanic of Deathsmiles will keep you on your toes as you dodge and weave through complex enemy fire, beautifully crafted by the modern masters of shmups, CAVE.

Triggering “Power-up mode” will unleash great streams of golden crowns, white tiaras, and grey skulls as you cut through enemies with your little angel’s mighty magic shot. Try not to get distracted by the bling as you collect these gorgeous trinkets en masse and pump your high score to the limit!

Five Characters to Explore Gilverado

Choose Windia, the foppish English girl; Casper, the sassy German; Follett, the cautious French girl; or Rosa, the California valley girl. Travel down the roads of Gilverado and discover hidden conversations between the angels.

Mega Black Label

Test your supernatural powers against the onslaught of the Ice Palace and its forgotten protector! Put your skills to the test with a new scoring system that demands more, but pumps out even more explosions of shiny tokens!

Choose Your Path and Difficulty

You can choose your own route through the game’s stages and set the difficulty for each, from a level of 1 to 3. These difficulty levels allow you to customize the bullet count and boss toughness. Watch out if you choose level 3 four times, though…

Save and Play Back Replays

Save replays of your own games to watch later for your own enjoyment. Players can also download the top 20 scoring runs on the leaderboard.

Online Rankings & Online Co-op

Check out your score on the online leaderboard, with rankings for each character and game mode. Two-player cooperative play is also available via: Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network!

If you were an old school PC gamer in the '90s, you remember Raptor. It was a really rad shoot-'em-up that had a heavy emphasis on upgrades, allowing you to slowly enhance your plane over the course of 27 levels.
It was a fu...more

Super Stardust has been around for a long time -- since 1994, in fact. Although most people know the franchise from Super Stardust HD, it was originally on the Amiga platform before it hit the big-time. Now developer Hou...more

Starr Mazer came out of the gate with an impressive roster of artists working on its soundtrack. Despite having a huge list of talent to pull from, developer Imagos Softworks has added another composer sure to pull on some n...more